Which leads to an interesting question – does taking part in martial arts cause the brain to develop better control, or do people with these brain characteristics choose to do martial arts? It is something that our team has been researching, with interesting results.

Martial attention

We’ve been specifically measuring attention to assess mental control, as previous research has suggested that mindfulness and exercise can both have beneficial effects on attention. You could argue that martial arts are a combination of both – active sports that involve aspects of meditation and mindfulness.

In our recently published study, we recruited 21 amateur adults who practice martial arts (karate, judo and taekwondo, among others) and 27 adults with no experience in the sports, to take part in an attention network test. This test assesses three different types of attention: alerting (maintaining a sense of alertness), orienting (the shifting of attention), and executive (involved in choosing the correct response when there’s conflicting information).

We were particularly interested in the alert network, which can reveal how vigilant a person is. If a person has a high alert score on this test, it would suggest that they are better able to respond to unpredictably timed targets than those with a low score.

While there are differences across each martial art in terms of their core philosophies, whether they’re more of a “fighting” martial art or more “meditative”, and their intensity, we did not discriminate about the type our participants took part in. Future research could compare the different types, but for this study we were more interested in general martial artists’ attention compared to non-martial artists’.

Sparring tests

We invited the participants to our lab, and recorded details of their martial arts experience (including the type, how often they practice, and how many years they’ve been involved in the sport) before asking them to take part in the computer-based task. This involved participants seeing a row of five arrows, and having to respond to the direction of the central arrow by pressing a letter button on a keyboard (“c” for left-facing arrows, and “m” for right) as quickly as possible. In some trials, they were given a warning cue that told them the arrows would appear soon, and in others they weren’t.

Typically, in most martial arts training, there’s an element of sparring, which is a form of simulated fighting with a partner. One of the aims of this is that the partners will be attempting to remain focused and avoid their partner making contact. After all, nobody wants to be punched in the face. It is rare for a sparring opponent to give a clear warning of the exact timing of a punch so the defending partner needs to stay alert, or vigilant, at all times so that they are ready to dodge the hit.

During our research, the martial arts participants produced higher alert scores than our non-martial artists. This means that the martial artists responded to the arrows fastest, especially when they were not given a warning. This signifies that they have a greater level of vigilance, which could reflect stronger cognitive control.

We also looked at the effects of long-term martial arts practice, and found that alertness was better in the martial artists with the most amount of experience. Several of our participants who had more than nine years’ experience in the sport, showed the best alertness in our tests. This suggests that the longer a person sticks at martial arts, the bigger their reward. Taking this a step further, it appears that the effects of improved attention may be long lasting, rather than just a short boost after training.

While it could be argued that martial arts simply are among many activities that can lead to better health, what we and other researchers have found is that their practice is one of those rare crossovers that helps significantly improve the brain just as much as the body.

Since 1993 West Coast Aikido Martial Arts Academy has trained thousands of people in Perth’s Northern Suburbs our Self Defence Martial Art. Regardless of your gender, age, fitness level or physical limitations, we can help you learn our amazing martial art and teach you great way to live. Yoseikan Aikido Self-Defence is easy to learn and will enable you to defend yourself or your loved ones, overcome fear, gain confidence and get fighting fit. You will reduce stress, improve your fitness, become more self-disciplined, have greater focus, awareness, elevated self-esteem and get more out of life! Many learn Aikido as a form of nonviolent self-defence, but many also train in Aikido for the mental and spiritual benefits that it provides. At West Coast Aikido Martial Arts, we are dedicated to helping you acquire practical self-defence skills whilst reducing stress, and getting into the best shape of your life! We offer classes for Women and Men, Children, Youth, Teens, Adults and Seniors. Start you FREE TRIAL today by visiting www.wcaikido.com

What Our Clients Say

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Since having enrolled the kids at West Coast Aikido we have noticed definite improvements in their focus and confidence. The atmosphere at the dojo is excellent. The sensei’s strike a good balance between discipline and fun, giving the kids a great learning environment.

Florian Von GuttenbergEdgewater WA

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Private Lessons with you gave me confidence, belief in myself and my abilities and they confirmed my opinion how lucky I am to be a student in your school. I could not set a dollar value to the experiences I gained in each of the lessons.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My two boys have been training with West Coast Aikido for 8 months now and have loved every minute of it! The atmosphere in the dojo is focused but like a big family, with instructors who are very approachable.In the world we now live in it is important that my boys are learning the necessary skills to develop their confidence, focus, awareness and self-defence skills. I can see West Coast Aikido being a big part of our lives for years to come.

Peter FlemingHocking WA

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ We love WC Aikido the quality of trainers and staff with Ross encouraging all the kids doesn’t matter what size/shape/nationality or needs they are all taught with passion and caring learning respect and self defence so glad we found this Academy.

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Dylan BurgessTapping WA

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Our son has now been attending Aikido consistently for six months, and looks forward to each class he attends. As a parent, it certainly makes me proud to see him achieving his goals and the fact that he enjoys his time with the instructors who will serve as positive role models in his life now and as he gets older.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Amazing fully owned premises…
Quality instruction backed by an amazing history designed to bring out the very best in their students, wow

Master Fari SalievskiFounderMMA Australia, Liverpool NSW

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Love the staff and students. Makes you feel like we are all part of one giant family

Dave ClarkeAshby WA

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Both of my sons (7 & 8 years) attend the West Coast Aikido Academy every week and love it! I have seen a great improvement in their confidence and attitude. The instructors are fantastic and show great patience especially when instructing the younger students. I would not hesitate in recommending the West Coast Aikido Academy to others.

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⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I did the “Aiki Fitness Sessions” in this academy for few months and I really enjoyed my training sessions. I’m very happy and satisfied with the training programs the professional fitness training coach “Matt” gave me. Every session was different and challenging. I could see the results in the first month! The Academy also has a very safe environment and all the professional coaches are so polite and friendly. It’s a great choice for the families to bring their child…